For the 4th year in a row, I was out cheering on all the runners of the NYC Marathon this last weekend with mein Schatz and friends. It’s an inspiring thing to do even if you don’t know anyone running! This year we (along with 2 million other spectators) were cheering on our friends and mein Schatz‘s best friend from Germany (along with the 35,000 other runners from around the world).

Our first stop was 4th Avenue & Baltic Street in Brooklyn — just a block from where I live — and about 7 miles into the marathon. We arrived extra early so we could watch the elite women zoom by at 10am, and the elite men about half an hour later. Watching an elite runner is about the most beautiful thing I can think of, and definitely worth getting up early for!

We rushed to the subway to our second cheering spot on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The rest of the gang got off the train at 86th Street, but mein Schatz and I continued up to Mile 20 in East Harlem where the runners were heading into the Bronx. We ran from the subway to the race course, and spotted one of our friends, but didn’t see the rest of our crew.

Afraid that we would miss mein Schatz‘s friend again, we ran (literally) through Harlem from 1st Avenue over to 5th Avenue to see the runners at Mile 23 as they were coming back into Manhattan. We finally spotted him in the crowd, and mein Schatz ran a few blocks with him before he headed off into the last few miles of the race.

To make sure we would be at the reunion area after he finished, we rushed across Central Park and took a local train down the West Side and stood in the designated reunion area for over an hour holding our Elmo balloon and looking for him among the crowd of runners and loved ones. It was beyond chaotic and terribly crowded (even for New York), but we eventually found him, and hobbled over to Broadway to catch the slow train up to Washington Heights, were we ate dinner and looked over all the great photographs and digital video footage from the day.

It was a great day, full of excitement, and I look forward to next year — if you’re up for running it, I’ll be there cheering you on!